City fire crews battled an early morning blaze today at a homeless encampment near Barrie’s downtown.
At 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 2, Barrie Fire had two trucks on the scene on Boys Street where a 60-by-40-foot section of the camp was on fire.
“We ensured that the area was safe and that there wasn’t anyone in the fire area unaccounted for,” Deputy Fire Chief Carrie Clark told BarrieToday.
“We talked to some people in the area. They all accounted for the people that should have been in that zone," she added.
There were no injuries reported.
Crews were on scene for approximately an hour.
“Everything was involved by the time we arrived,” said Clark.
The cause of the fire was not immediately evident, she added, as it’s an area that typically has various open fires going.
“Anytime that we are called to an area that may have an encampment in it, there’s always a concern about the level of combustibles that are in there as well, and what they may be," Clark said. "They might be propane tanks, generators or other fuel sources, as well as tents and structures, and there is a lot of fuel load in very small areas."
“Smoke alarms aren’t usually involved, so there’s no early warning for the people who may live there, so there’s always a concern for us that someone has not been able to escape the fire,” she said.
